The New Dragon Riders
by HPNerd524
Summary: It has been 6 years since Eragon sailed from Alagaesia and new Dragon Riders are being recruited every year. Ireth from Teirm will have her chance to become a Dragon Rider. What will she accomplish and how will she take her place among the growing ranks of the Riders. Rated T for later chapters.
1. Chosen

At the age of ten years of age, Ireth Kearasdaughter slowly approached the pedestal in the center of town. Her long, medium brown hair was pulled back into a tight braid that reached halfway down her back, her dark blue eyes showed the nervousness she felt at being in front of all the people in Teirm. It was the second time that the egg carriers had come to Teirm to allow the children to walk past the egg and see who would be chosen to become part of the new order of Dragon Riders. Ireth gulped as the last two children approached the egg before it was her turn. She glanced back at her parents and elder sister who nodded to her with encouragement. Her sister had tried 2 years ago when they came and was not chosen. It had been and Urgal chosen that year.

Lifting her head up, Ireth walked up the platform and looked at the egg that lay on a soft green pillow. It was the color of a pink germanium with slightly darker and lighter pinks mixed together in veins that ran across the surface. Awed by the beauty of the dragon egg, Ireth placed her hand on the top of the egg and prepared herself to wait and see if the egg would hatch for her. Though she had told her parents, she did not care if she was not picked, this was not how she really felt. This was her only chance to be chosen and once they left, she would never be able to join the Rider's ranks.

Thirty seconds passed and Ireth was just getting to leave to let the next child have their turn when the egg shook. The loud chattering that had been going on since the children had begun their procession. With bated breath, Ireth watched as the gentle rocking of the egg increased so that it was moving violently on the pillow. A sharp _crack_ pierced the air as a small line appeared in the egg. The line spread across the whole egg as a small squeaking escaped. Slowly, a small claw appeared and then another as the dragon forced its way out of the egg. It was germanium pink with darker scales on it s underside. Ireth gazed at it with amazement and watched as it pulled itself free of the fragments. Shaking from nose to tail, it spread its wings and turned around and faced Ireth.

With a trembling hand, Ireth reached out and touched the dragon with her right hand. As soon as she touched the dragon's head, a huge shock went up her arm and she almost collapsed but her knees were locked preventing her from doing so. The pain lessened and she looked down at her palm. There glowed the gedwëy ignasia, the mark of a Dragon Rider. Ireth then felt something brush against her mind. She recoiled mentally before she realized it was the dragon, reaching out to her.

All at once, the crowd cheered. Startled, Ireth looked up. She had forgotten that they were in the middle of town and everyone had just watched her dragon hatch for her. The dragon hissed and waddled towards, Ireth, frightened of the sudden loud noise that surrounded it. Ireth picked it up and cradled her dragon against her chest, comforting it. She turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was one of the egg bearers, leading her down the stairs into a tent that would shield them from the crowd.

Upon entering the tent, Ireth noticed two bowls located on a table on the far side of the tent. In them was water and strips of meat. Ireth smiled at the food and carried her dragon over to the table and sat at one of the chair placed there. Pulling the bowl of meat closer, she picked up a piece of what looked like goat and offered it to her dragon. The dragon sniffed the meat before opening its mouth and grabbing the meat from her fingers. Ireth feed it several more pieces and then when it rejected the next piece of meat, she grabbed the bowl of water and let the dragon drink from it. Once this was done, the dragon circled in her lap and fell asleep. Ireth stroked its back and sighed to herself. She was so happy. As soon as she had realized that the dragon had touched her mind, she found that she had been missing something she hadn't noticed before. She felt as if she had found her other half.

"Greeting child," said a voice from somewhere in the room. While Ireth had been busy feeding her dragon, one of the egg bearers had pulled out two large, round mirrors and another had cast a spell on them. Ireth whipped her head around towards the sound. She gasped at what she saw. In the first mirror, there sat a man with brown hair and brown eyes, grinning at her. He had pointed ears and looked fairer than any man she had ever seen before. In the second sat a woman even fairer than the man. Her long black hair was held out of her face by the crown that sat upon her head.

"Do not be frightened child," said the woman in a rich voice. "I am Arya Dröttning, Queen of the Elves and bonded to Fírnen, he of the emerald scales."

"And I am Eragon Shadeslayer, leader of the Dragon Riders and bonded to Saphira Brighscales. I welcome you to the Riders. What is your name, young one and where are you from?"

"I….I am Ireth, sir. I live in Teirm," Ireth rushed to say. She was awed that such famous people were speaking to her.

"I am pleased to meet you Ireth. I am glad to see that the egg has hatched. You may call me Master or Ebrithil in the Ancient Language. Arya and I will be your teachers." Eragon said, leaning back in his chair. Behind him, the blue background shifted and a large blue eye appeared behind him. Ireth gaped at the eye and looked down at her dragon.

"In one weeks time, you and your dragon will travel with the egg bearers to Du Weldenvarden, where the two of you will begin your training. Once there, you will spend the next year and a half with Fírnen and I before you fly to Eragon to finish up your training." Arya told Ireth as she studied the girl. "For now, we will leave you to getting to know your dragon. Eragon is there anything you would like to add?"

Eragon looked at Ireth and smiled. "No but Saphira would like me to pass on a message. She says welcome little one and looks forward to getting to know you and your dragon." Eragon looked past Ireth and nodded to one of the egg bearers. "Trianna, you can end the spell now." With that, the images on both mirrors cleared and Ireth let out a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. Looking down at her lap, she saw that her dragon was staring at her with wide, pink eyes.

"Looks like there is a lot for us to get ready for, doesn't it. Let's go home and get some rest." Ireth picked the baby dragon up in her arms and as it stuck its tongue out and licked her arm as they walked to the entrance of the tent. "Excuse, may we please go home now?" she asked the woman Eragon had called Trianna.

Trianna turned and smiled at the girl. "Of course. In a few days, we will come for you, so that you can begin to prepare for your journey to the elves."

Ireth smiled at her and suddenly yawned. She had not realized how tired she was until that moment. Getting a firmer grip on her dragon, Ireth left for home, several of the egg bearers following her, so that they could keep back the crowd that wished to congratulate her. As she reached the front door to her house, it opened and there stood her mother. She opened her arms wide and embraced her daughter. She ushered her into the house and helped her get to bed, for Ireth was asleep on her feet. The last thing she saw before she drifted off to sleep was her dragon curled up on her pillow.


	2. Leaving Home

A/N: So I forgot to include this on the first chapter but here is the disclaimer. I do not own any of the characters created by Christopher Paolini. I did make some original characters for this story and those are the only characters that I own.

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The next day, Ireth was woken by squeaks next to her left ear. She turned towards them and all she saw was pink. At first she was confused, but as her eyes focused and she recognized the dragon in front of her she grinned. "Good morning" she told the dragon. Swinging its head towards her, the dragon hummed and brushed against her cheek with its head. I wonder if you are a girl or a boy, Ireth thought to herself. Ireth thought of several names that she could try but seemed to stick in her mind. "What do you think of Raziel?" In response, the dragon began to hum even louder and in her mind, Ireth felt a sense of approval from the dragon. "I think you like that name," she giggled to herself. "I guess that makes you a boy." Raziel nodded his head and butted against her arm. As she lifted her hand to stroke him, she get the impression from his mind that he was hungry. She giggles again and got up from her bed and dressed in a soft green dress and was pulling on her boots when Raziel bumped up against her back, pressing her with his hunger in her mind. "I'm going as fast as I can" she told him as she finished lacing her boots and rose from the bed.

Raziel quickly jumped down and waddled towards the door, looking expectantly at her. Ireth opened the door and lead her dragon to the kitchen. Raziel sniffed at everything as they walked through the hallways. He even smelt the family cat, who then began to rub against him, causing Raziel to topple over. A small giggle escaped from Ireth which earned her a look of contempt from the dragon. She picked him up once they reached the stairs and carried him down them, fearing he would hurt himself if he tumbled down the. At the bottom, he wriggled out of her grasp and sailed to the floor, his wings slightly extended.

When they entered the kitchen, her mother and sister were there eating their breakfast. "Good morning Mother. Good morning Ciara," she said as walked over to the cold box and pulled out some chicken and placed it in a bowl. As she walked back over to the table, Raziel was busy sniffing her mother and her sister. Once done, he walked back to Ireth and stood on his hind legs and placed his forelegs on her legs, once again pressing her with his hunger.

Good morning darling" Keara said, smiling at her daughter. "And who might this be?" she asked as she watched Ireth pick Raziel up and placed him on the table in front of the bowl.

"His name is Raziel, Mother." Ireth said, running her hand down his back, causing him to arch against her hand and hum with pleasure. "Raziel, this is my mother, Keara." Looking up from his food, Raziel turned and looked at Keara with his sparkling pink eyes and nodded his head in acknowledgement to her before turning back to his breakfast.

"I am honored to meet you Raziel" Keara said, bowing slightly in her seat. Throughout their exchange, Ciara glared at Ireth. "Ciara, why do you glare at your sister so?" their mother asked. "Are you not happy for her?"

Ciara glanced at her mother before saying in a dry voice, "I am very happy for Ireth mother." Ciara visibly struggled to smile at her sister before she pushed her chair away from the table and left the kitchen.

Ireth watched her go, feeling sad. She and her sister had always been close but since they had learned that the next dragon egg was going to b in Teirm while Ireth was ten, she had begun to withdraw herself. Ireth wondered if Ciara had somehow known that she would be bonded with Raziel and had become jealous of her sister for having something that had been denied to her. Seeing her mother looking at her, she smiled at her and reached out and picked up Raziel. He squeaked and wriggled in her arms in protest for he had not finished eating yet. Ireth sighed and released him. "It's alright mother" Ireth said. "I know she is upset that she didn't get chosen two years ago and that seeing me with Raziel makes it worse."

Keara smiled at her youngest daughter. "Well, your father and I are happy for you and to watch you and Raziel grow up."

At this Ireth look down at her hands. "Mother there is something I have to tell you." Ireth paused and took a big breath before saying, "Raziel and I have to leave. We are supposed to leave in one week to head to the home of the elves to begin our training." She glanced up at her mother to gauge her reaction to this statement. Seeing nothing on her face but sadness in her eyes, Ireth continued. "Last night, Eragon Shadeslayer and the Queen of the elves spoke to me and told me what we are supposed to do." Looking at her hands again, she said, "I wish we didn't have to leave so soon."

"Oh darling come here," Keara said standing up and walking towards her daughter. She pulled her into a hug. "You know that we always be here for you and that once you finish training you will be able to visit us whenever you want." Ireth smiled at her. "There that's the Ireth I know."

...

Over the next few days, Ireth talked constantly to Raziel about her family and what her father did. He was a merchant and had been teaching his daughters how to manage books and the other tasks that he did on a daily basis. Raziel began to eat an increasing amount of food and often Ireth went with him outside the city walls and hunted with her sling. He grew fast and by the time they were ready to leave from Teirm, he was a little over 2 feet long. He could glide across the floor and leap into chairs, startling the people who did not see him when they went to sit down. He and Ireth were never far from each other and Ireth could always be seen talking animatedly to him and explain what things were and how you did things. Raziel would stare at her with his pink eyes following every move she made.

On the day that they were to depart for Teirm, Ireth bid teary farewells to her her mother, Keara, her father Smed, and her sister, Ciara. She made promises to write to them on how she was doing. As she hugged her sister, Ireth whispered to her, "I'm going to miss you most of all" and kissed her on the cheek.

Ciara tried to remain aloof but at the look of pleading on Ireth's face, she gave in and hugged her tightly. "I will miss you too." she whispered back.

"Come Ireth" Trianna said, holding the reins of the pony Ireth would ride. Ireth climbed into the saddle and accepted Raziel when her mother handed him to her.

"Travel safely," Smed said to his daughter.

Together, Ireth's family watched her depart from the gates of Teirm until they could see her no more. Ireth glanced back one last time at her home before looking down at Raziel and saying, "Well Raziel, are you ready?" Raziel stared at her and nodded his head at her. Ireth felt the excitement that had been suppressed by her sadness of leaving home come back and she grinned at Raziel. She could not wait to begin their training.

Trianna noticed the change in the girl and nodded to the guards around. They sped up to a trot and soon Teirm was left behind as they headed to Du Weldenvarden.

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A/N: So, I hope you all are enjoying the story. Reviews are appreciated. If you have any ideas of what should happen in later chapters send me a PM.

_Atra esterní ono thelduin. Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr. Un du evarínya ono varda._


	3. Du Weldenvarden

For nearly a month they traveled across Alagaesia to reach Du Weldenvarden. On their first night on the road, Trianna had contacted Queen Arya to let them know that they were on their way.

They were now camped along the edge of the forest. Trianna had told them to stop there around mid-day. She had again contacted the queen, this time away from the camp. She came back saying, "We go no further today." The men seemed relieved and set about caring for their horses and Ireth's pony.

During their travels, Raziel had grown so bit that he could no longer ride in front of Ireth on her pony. He would either ride on the small wagon they had brought to carry supplies or fly alongside Ireth. One night, about half way to the forest, Ireth had heard something. She had looked around for the voice but when she noticed no one was looking at her she went back to wiping the dust off Raziel's scales.

_Ireth_ had said the voice again, louder this time. With a start, she realized that it was Raziel speaking.

_Raziel, is that you?_ She'd asked mentally to the consciousness she had long known was his.

_Yes_ he'd replied. His voice was deep, as deep as a man's voice with a gravellines like when you wake up in the morning. Ireth stared at him. She had been delighted that he talked to her and picked him up and kissed him on the nose. He had squirmed in her grasp. _Ireth, release me._ He'd said with as much dignity as he could summon, which given his predicament was very hard.

With a giggle, she obeyed. "Sorry Raziel. I was just very excited."

_Thank you_ he'd commented when she put him down.

Since then, they had talked continuously with each other. Now at the forest's edge, however they were silent. They stared together into the depth of the forest, wait for what, they did not know.

Suddenly, Raziel's head whipped around and he said _Look at the sky_. Ireth looked in the direction he had.

"I don't see anything," Ireth said, scanning the skies. A drifted in front of the sun at that moment, once it had passed, Ireth saw something. "What is that?" she asked Raziel. He did not answer her but let out a roar as loud as he could manage. Around the camp, everyone froze. Seeing their charges looking to the sky they did the same just as something roared back.

Racing towards them from the sky was a dragon. A large, emerald green dragon with someone with long black hair on its back approached the camp. As they got closer, Raziel took off and flew towards them. "Raziel, no!" Ireth exclaimed reaching towards him. He ignored her and flew to the strange dragon, circling its head and the rider on its back.

In her mind Ireth heard a male voice say,_ Go back to your Rider, little one._ With a squeak Raziel obeyed and landed beside Ireth, hiding behind her legs and the green dragon landed outside of the camp. Ireth stayed where she was as Trianna approached the pair. She exchanged greetings with her and pointed towards where Ireth was. The green dragon walked around the edge of the camp, while his rider walked though it to where Ireth was standing. As she came closer, Ireth recognized her.

"Queen Arya," she said, grabbing her skirt and curtsying to her. She was a beautiful as when she had first seen her in the mirror. She gaped at her, not realizing she was doing so.

"Greeting young ones" the queen said. "Welcome to Du Weldenvarden."

_Greetings_ said the green dragon, lowering his head and flicking his tongue out to taste the air around Ireth. Growling, Raziel stuck his head around Ireth's side. _Peace, I mean your Rider no harm._

"Your majesty, I apologize for Raziel's behavior." Ireth said with another curtsy. She then looked down and glared at him. _Apologize_ she told him privately.

Raziel huffed and shuffled around before saying, _I apologize_

The green dragon nodded in acceptance before saying. _I am pleased to meet you Ireth and Raziel. I am Fírnen. Arya and I will be your teachers while you are here. In one and a half years or when we deem you ready, you will fly to Doru Strys to complete your training with Eragon and Saphira. While you are here_

"You will obey all that we say. You will address us as either Master in this tongue, or as Ebrithil in the Ancient Language. You will be"

_Studying with several other students. Treat them with respect and they will do the same with you._

Ireth and Raziel turned their heads back and forth as their teachers alternated who was talking, as if they were one person with two heads. Arya watched and smiled when Ireth loosed a huge yawn. "Come. You and Raziel will ride with us to Ellesméra, where we will settle you into your room. Tomorrow you will begin your lessons." Turning to the guards and Trianna she said, "Thank you for delivering another new rider safely here. Rest and in a few months time we will contact you with where you will begin your search for the next to join out ranks." She inclined her head slightly in their direction. Reaching towards Ireth she put her arm around her, leading her to the right side of Fírnen, where she helped the girl climb up and secure her legs in the straps on the saddle. Once Ireth was secure, Arya nodded to Raziel and he flew up and sat in front of Ireth. After Arya jumped up, Fírnen spread his massive wings and took off, sailing over the forest. Soon Ireth fell asleep and did not wake till they reached the city.

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A/N: I hope you all enjoyed chapter 3 of The New Dragon Riders. As always reviews are appreciated. It is your way of telling me what you think about the story. If you have an idea you would like to see, send me a PM.

_Atra esterní ono thelduin. Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr. Un du evarínya ono varda._


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